Junior WRC
Carlberg commands Junior WRC opener on Friday
Calle Carlberg holds a commanding lead at close of Friday at Rally Sweden, the Swede capitalising on a dramatic afternoon which eliminated his closest challengers in the FIA Junior WRC season opener.
The 25-year-old, stepping onto the world stage after securing last year’s Junior ERC title, heads into Saturday with a 43.7sec advantage over Finland’s Leevi Lassila. But the margin only tells part of the story after a fierce early duel gave way to snowbank drama in the Västerbotten forests.
It was Ali Türkkan who struck first on Thursday night’s Umeå opener and retained the upper hand through SS2, but Carlberg responded on Andersvattnet, claiming his first stage win to edge closer. He then snatched the rally lead by just 0.3sec on SS4 Bäck 1.
“SS2 was almost like a shakedown for me, I struggled with understeer,” Carlberg admitted at midday service. “Confidence is higher but there are still improvements to be made.”
The rally swung decisively on SS5. As ruts deepened and conditions deteriorated on the repeated Bygdsiljum test, Türkkan’s charge unravelled at a left-hand junction.
Ali Türkkan's charge was halted on SS5
© WRC
“There was a line which didn’t help to stop the car, the wheels locked,” he explained. “We got sucked into the soft snow and were unable to get out.”
Moments later, Kerem Kazaz - running fourth - suffered a similar fate after bottoming out under braking. Both Turkish drivers were forced into retirement but are expected to restart on Saturday.
With two of his rivals sidelined, Carlberg managed proceedings calmly - adding further fastest times and rounding out the day with another benchmark on the Umeå Sprint to consolidate his advantage.
“We had a strong afternoon,” said Carlberg. “Seeing Ali and Kerem going off doing almost the exact same mistake was distracting, but I managed to keep the focus. We’ll see what tomorrow has in store. I have no doubt Ali and Kerem will be on a big push for stage win points, so we’ll need to develop our strategy throughout the day I think.”
Lassila ended Friday as Carlberg's closest pursuer
© WRC
Lassila ended the day as Carlberg’s closest pursuer. The Finn admitted he was “not happy at all with his performance” early on, but service adjustments unlocked more speed and he responded with a stage win on SS5 to cement the runner-up position.
Raúl Hernández completes the provisional podium, learning quickly on unfamiliar snow conditions and climbing the order when fellow Spaniard Gil Membrado lost almost 10 minutes to a broken wheel following an impact on SS7. Membrado, who had been second before the issue, nevertheless remains in contention for valuable points.
Craig Rahill rounds out the top five after a difficult start to his campaign. The Irishman was unable to begin Thursday’s SS1 due to a fire extinguisher issue and dropped time this afternoon with a puncture, but he continues to prioritise mileage on his debut Junior WRC outing.
Fontana on top in WRC3
Matteo Fontana's WRC3 title defence is off to a good start, with the Italian ending the day leading the category by 48.1sec over Poland's Tymek Abramowski. Registered for WRC3 points in addition to Junior WRC, Raúl Hernández holds third a further 1min 4sec behind.
